In the field of fishing lure apparatus, spoons are used as important fish-attacting components of lure apparatus or as the major component. The term "spoon" is used because of the slightly hollowed or cupped shape which often characterizes such devices. Spoons are used either in casting or trolling, to attract and catch fish.
A great many kinds of spoons and mounting mechanisms for spoons have been made in a variety of shapes and sizes. In many cases, a spoon is mounted on a clevis, a generally U-shaped device having first and second legs with first and second aligned mounting structures, respectively, at the ends thereof for rotatable mounting on a spindle. Such spoons are often referred to as spinners, because they spin around a spindle on their clevises. In such fishing lure apparatus, the spindle is typically a wire extending along the principal axis of the lure in a manner allowing the clevis-spoon combination to revolve or spin about the spindle as the lure is pulled through the water.
The attachment of the spoon to the clevis is by passage of the clevis through a mounting hole near the front end of the spoon. The clevis extends freely through such mounting hole. In many cases, attachment of a spoon onto the clevis and/or removal from the clevis has required the use of hand tools. In such cases, the process of changing a spoon may be somewhat time-consuming and inconvenient, usually requiring two hands--sometimes when two hands may not conveniently be available.
Certain efforts in the prior art have made simpler the tasks of attaching and removing a spoon from a spindle-mounted clevis. In particular, attention is directed to British Patent Specification No. 687,699, disclosing a fishing lure apparatus with a spoon-clevis arrangement allowing easy attachment and removal of the spoon.
The device of this prior disclosure has, in addition to the more common spindle-clevis-spoon arrangement as described above, a gap which extends from the front end of the spoon to the mounting hole to facilitate attachment and removal of the spoon. The mounting hole in the spoon is large enough so that the terminal structures of the clevis can pass through it. The gap leading to the mounting hole is wider than the spindle so that it can readily pass over the spindle, but is narrower than the clevis such that the gap cannot slide across the clevis and detach while the lure apparatus is being pulled through the water.
The device of the British disclosure also has a restrictor tube around the spindle between the terminal structures. The purpose of the restrictor tube is to prevent inadvertent disconnection of the spoon from the clevis. The restrictor tube is wider than the gap in the spoon such that the tube can block disconnection of the spoon from the clevis when the tube is positioned to engage the gap. The tube is shorter than the spindle length between the terminal structures so that it can slide on the spindle to a position exposing enough of the spindle to allow passage of the gap thereover for attachment and removal of the spoon from the clevis.
Such gap-and-tube arrangement has significant problems. In such apparatus, despite the presence of the tube and its intended purpose, the spoon has a tendency to inadvertently disconnect from the clevis and can be lost. This is particularly likely to occur when the fishing lure apparatus is buffeted by varying currents and forces, as may exist both in and out of the water.
Thus, there is a need for an improved lure apparatus with an easily removable spoon with reliable resistance to inadvertent disconnection from the clevis.